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Schools Want Impact Fee Hike

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By RONNIE BLAIR, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 24, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - The Pasco County School Board wants the county commission to increase the school impact fee - and do it as quickly as possible.

The board approved a resolution Tuesday asking the commission to raise the fee on residential construction to the amount suggested in a consultant's study.

The study determined that the fee on a single-family detached home should be $8,983, up from the current $4,400.

The commission is the government entity with the power to impose impact fees on new construction to help pay for growth.

In the case of the school district, that growth comes in the form of additional students, creating the need for more schools.

The school board's resolution won't come as a surprise to county commissioners.

School district and county officials have been discussing the possibility of an impact fee increase for several months, and the fee was one of the topics when the school board and commission met in October.

The resolution doesn't specify when the board would like the commission to vote, but schools Superintendent Heather Fiorentino and board members agreed Tuesday that they would like to see their request handled expeditiously.

"Time is money," board member Frank Parker said.

Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at rblair@tampatrib.com or (813) 948-4218.

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